Mutual Funds

Today’s column addresses questions about divorcing and remarrying after 60 to allow survivor’s benefits from a previous marriage, temporarily avoiding the deeming provision even if you were born after 1/1/1954 and how Social Security uses earnings histories to calculate benefit amounts. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and

By Arlene Weintraub, Next Avenue Only 58% of Americans age 65 or older have broadband internet access at home, which means 22 million people that age lack it, according to the nonprofit Older Adult Technology Services (OATS). This became especially problematic during the pandemic, when so many people needed to get on the internet for telehealth

According to the National Retail Federation Mother’s Day spending is expected to total a record $28.1 billion this year, up $1.4 billion from last year. Can you imagine if instead of splurging on flowers and gifts, that much money were to pour into women’s retirement accounts this month? Of course, that’s not going to happen.

Clutter is one thing. Lots of us have unneeded items in our homes. Books abound on how to de-clutter but these do not seem to apply to aging parents. It bothers the adult children when they see it and say something but the elders do not seem to want to change the situation. Or perhaps

Shocking that a movie about discarded older people could win an Oscar! And not just any Oscar — Best Picture! “Nomadland’s,” starring Frances McDormand and directed by Chloe Zhao, prize means millions more people will watch the movie and learn about Amazon’s “CamperForce program” and the roaming ‘nomads’ who work there, especially older workers. McDormand’s

If you haven’t filed your 2020 tax return, are you still dealing with complexities created when RMDs (required minimum distributions) were waived for 2020? RMDs are mandated distributions (withdrawals) from tax-deferred accounts, such as IRAs. Doing your taxes for 2020 can be confusing, given that RMDs were suspended for 2020 in March by the CARES

The Roth IRA is one of the largest gifts ever bestowed upon the American taxpayers by congress. While many people ignore the Roth IRA, it has been around for more than 20 years. Even small contributions over time can grow into a substantial amount of tax-free income in retirement. Sadly, the Roth IRA is often

If passed, the ‘Secure Act 2.0’ would significantly alter the retirement landscape. Officially called the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, the bill is essentially a follow up to the 2019 Secure Act. After approval from the Ways and Means Committee yesterday, the proposed legislation is now going to the House. If voted into

Today’s column addresses questions about when to apply to make sure you’ll receive all of the delayed retirement credits (DRCs) you earned by delaying until 70, eligibility for child disability benefits on a second parent’s record and potential options to increase benefit amounts. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the

Pre-retirees and retirees have been trying to squeeze out extra yield on fixed income investments for many years in the current low-interest environment. And lately the pickings have been pretty slim. However, if you broaden your goal from simply earning more interest on your savings to reliably increasing your financial security in retirement, you might

Rules of thumb are common in financial literature. Who can disagree with “buy low, sell high” or “decrease your risk exposure by diversifying your portfolio”? Author and retirement planner Dana Anspach, CFP®, RMA®, observes that these kinds of rules of thumb can be useful to point the way, but beyond that, may lose their value. In

Back last month, I observed that supporters of greater federal government funding of child and eldercare, in the form of the American Jobs Plan spending, had taken to calling this “infrastructure spending” by redefining infrastructure away from referring to basic physical systems such as roads, electric or water systems, to a new meaning of “job-enabling

Let’s talk stimulus. First, let’s talk about someone who normally does not file an income tax return, then someone who does. Then, we’ll discuss what you can do if your stimulus payment got lost. Don’t Owe Taxes? The first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) were, according to the IRS, “advance payments of the

Today’s column addresses questions about potential effects of retiring from work four years before filing for a retirement benefit, filing for retirement benefits before spousal benefits and transferring conserved benefits to a capable beneficiary. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which

Early retirement is a very common goal, but how exactly do you define “early?” For most people, “early” means stopping work before the availability of benefits that are used by retirees like Social Security and Medicare. Uncertainty over whether retirement savings can last without these programs is often the reason people put off retirement. If

A new public opinion survey shows broad bipartisan backing for more public support for long-term care, especially at home, even as congressional Republicans appear to be lining up against the idea. According a  new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 63 percent of respondents say government should support programs to help

One third of adults over 65 still have never used the internet, and half don’t even have internet access at home. In San Francisco, “the epicenter of tech,” 40% of older adults do not have basic digital literacy skills. Today, millions are disconnected to culture, but also opportunity. Before we can worry about the intricacies

Economic growth accelerated sharply in the first three months of 2021. The economy expanded by an annualized inflation-adjusted rate of 6.4% in the first three months of 2021, accelerating growth from the prior three months and thus extending growth for the third quarter in a row. As a result, the economy was 0.4% larger than

Today’s column addresses questions about whether Congress will correct an issue caused by Covid-19 that could mean lower lifelong benefits for those born in 1960, potential repercussions of Social Security overpayments and withdrawing a retirement benefit and reverting to survivor’s benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and

The Federal Reserve says not to worry about the 2.6% jump in the CPI. But the bond market is skeptical and it may be time to get yourself some protection. In the past year: —house prices have gone up 12%. —lumber prices have tripled. —shares of mediocre companies like The New York Times, American Water

By Julia Yarbough, Next Avenue Miami-Dade (Fla.) Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic James Weldon, 55, recalls the myriad of emotions pumping through him during a routine rescue call when he was a rookie 17 years ago. Not because of the severity of the medical treatment, but for the words the female patient in her 80s hurled his

Your pension board (and pensions worldwide) is doing the exact opposite of what legendary investor Warren Buffett has told it to do—with predictably disastrous results. To protect your retirement security, you need to regularly remind the people managing your pension to follow Buffett’s expert advice and give up trying to outsmart him. In case you’ve

When COVID-19 first shutdown the economy, fears spiraled, ranging from would businesses survive, to could this destroy the American economic system and ruin the future of retirement. It turns out, from a retirement perspective, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. With vaccination rates rising, the end of the pandemic is within

The American Families Act — Biden’s new spending proposal covering paid leave, child benefits, childcare subsidies, tuition-free community college, and more, but lacks one component progressives had been calling for: an expansion of Medicare, in terms of benefits provided and age eligibilities. Here’s an excerpt from yesterday’s Washington Post: “Congressional Democrats are planning to pursue

If you have been following the new changes in the law governing inherited IRAs, you need to know that the current IRS Publication 590-B (2020), the bible on individual retirement account withdrawals, contains an error. I confirmed this with an IRS spokesperson, who stated that the RMD example for inherited IRAs in IRS Publication 590-B

The story about how Archegos Capital Management performed a disappearing act with $20 billion it managed in as few as two days is shocking, but it’s also sad. Its manager, Bill Hwang, has a bit of a checkered past from a regulatory perspective, but it seems, by the accounts of many, that he was a

Today’s column addresses questions about when delayed retirement credits are applied to retirement benefits, whether suvivor’s benefits from a foreign country will affect Social Security benefits and becoming eligible for Social Security benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which markets

Social Security paperwork nightmares from the need of some people to send in drivers licenses, birth certificates, and passports to a lengthy and complex application form required for disability benefits dominated a Senate hearing today on the giant program. Requiring applicants to put important original documents in the mail that they regularly need to have

“I’ve climbed more than 60 mountains since I retired 18 months ago,” said Glen Anderson who lives in the Pacific Northwest. “The climb up Mount Adams was twelve miles, a 6700-foot ascent and at the top, I was at 12,276 feet elevation.” The COVID pandemic did not stop Anderson from making the most of his

If you’re in your late 50s or 60s, deciding when and how to retire is one of the most important decisions you’ll make at this point in your life. Your decisions will not only impact your financial security but your quality of life for the rest of your life.  There are a number of financial